Author: Alberto Statti

The Division coming 8th of March

Now that it has been confirmed that the release of The Division is 8th of March then we can prepare ourselves. For some people such as myself (Alberto Statti) this means hoarding sweets, snacks and drinks, only to leave the room to go to the toilet. For others, it is the case of booking some time off work for a proper gaming session. And then there are those of us with children, who do all the chores the week before to ensure we can game for a few days without being nagged.

Hype

It is safe to say that, after a closed beta and an open beta, the hype is real. For some maybe too real. No doubt there will be some that are going out of their way to create life like replicas of stuff they have seen in game (hopefully not the pooping dog)

What makes The Division feel so real?

The Division is made up of a LOT of little things that in the end, create something awesome. Whether it be the pooping dog above, great cover mechanics, or the fact that you have a ton of skills to choose from, there is a good deal of things to choose from.

Those things don’t necessarily make a game great, its more in the little things that bring the big things together.

For example:

Smoke moves in the direction of the wind.

Fog can make the game change drastically when you cant see more than 3 metres ahead.

Nearly everything can be shot through leaving actual bullet holes that let light shine through. Concrete will chip, sign posts will dent and brick walls will lose some nice chunks.

Sun light creates an atmosphere of realism that which not many games can claim.

Shadows move in real time with the sun.

Aiming down sight will cause you to close one eye.

When it snows, it builds up the streets and cars around you.

Jumping on a car will make it tilt like in real life.

Weapons have visual overheat as seen by glowing orange on your weapon.

There are many more to list but you get the idea

What can you do to prepare?

There are a BUNCH of people online who are going to crazy efforts to make the game easier for themselves and those they share their tools/knowledge with. I have compiled a mini list of the best places to to prepare for the game and will also come in handy while playing.

I have mentioned this one before, but the Skill Calculator is amazing and covers a good chunk of the gameplay and can be a goof to be pro-active with your talent choices.

An extensive list of Game Mechanics that will most certainly come in handy while playing 1v1 or even 2v1. It could be the difference between a win and death.

Python_FR has compiled a very good list of Base of Operations upgrade order which will prioritise levelling and if you plan on levelling as fast as possible its worth checking out – Source

Speaking of extensive, this guy seems to have cracked the formula for DPS and (sorry for the click bait title) It will suprise you.

Finally, NVidia are doing a giveaway of amazing proportions which requires you to find hidden codes and submit them with your details to enter the price draw. Lucky for you and me, Reddit to the rescue again as multiple users compile lists of the the codes for you to enter and so far, some cracks the new code within hours of it being live. – Source

Alberto Statti

It may surprise you to learn that video games are already over 50 years old. If you ask most people in the industry what the first video game was, the chances are that the majority would say Spacewar. It was a game developed in 1961 by a group of MIT students. While today’s video games can run on a small handheld device, Spacewar was designed to run on a big mainframe computer. Despite this, Spacewar helped start the market for the video games that were to follow.

1970s
The 1970s saw the arrival of the coin-operated video arcade game. It gave us games such as Asteroids and Space Invaders that the public could play. At the same time, the home console developed by companies like Atari came on to the market. It allowed people to connect the device to their TV to play what today would be thought of as simple games.

1980s
The 1980s was the era of the arcade games as they became widely available to the public. Some of the games today have their origins in the arcade games of that era. Games like ‘Pac-Man’ would become household names. As well as improved games consoles, the 1980s saw the appearance of the home PC on the market as another option for game playing. Towards the end, video games started to separate themselves along the lines of the type of game they were such as action, adventure and role-playing for example.

1990s
While the 1980s were the era of the arcade game, the 1990s was the time of the home console. As well as advances in home consoles, games also started to take off for the home PC. Innovation in the 1990s saw gaming move towards being more lifelike with the use of 3D graphics.

2000 onwards
Since 2000 gaming continues to evolve and adapt making the most of the technology available. In the consoles market gaming has seen the emergence of key players like Sony and Microsoft. For the players, there are a broad range of devices, including your smartphone or tablet, available. People who were not previously interested in gaming can get now get involved thanks to all of the different devices available.

The future of gaming is unknown but with the advancements in VR technology and display technology it is worth keeping a watch on them.